December 20
Events * 69 - Vespasian, a former general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of emperor. *1192 - Richard the Lion-Heart was captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the crusade. *1522 - Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually re-settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta. *1606 - The Virginia Company loaded three ships with settlers and set sail to establish Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas *1803 - Louisiana Purchase completed at a ceremony in New Orleans. *1835 - First signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence at Goliad. *1860 - South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States. *1915 - World War I: Last Australian troops evacuated from Gallipoli. *1917 - Cheka, first Soviet secret police, founded. *1941 - World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming. *1942 - World War II: Bombing of Calcutta by the Japanese. *1951 - Nuclear power first harvested when EBR-1 powers four light bulbs. *1952 - United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87. *1955 - Cardiff was proclaimed as the capital city of Wales,United Kingdom *1960 - National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed. *1973 - The Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid *1981 - The first ever on-stage performance of the award-winning Broadway musical Dreamgirls at Imperial Theatre on Broadway. *1984 - The Summit tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million litres of petrol derails near the town of Todmorden in the Pennines. *1988 - The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna. *1989 - United States invasion of Panama: United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. *1991 - Paul Keating becomes the 24th Prime Minister of Australia. * 1991 - A Missouri court passes the death sentence on Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina. *1995 - NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia. * 1995 - An American Airlines Flight 965 Boeing 757 crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 160. * 1995 - The Democratic Social Movement is founded in Greece. *1996 - American astronomer and Astrophysicist Carl Edward Sagan dies at age 62. *1996 - NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X. * 1999 - Macau is handed over to the People's Republic of China by Portugal. *2001 - Argentine economic crisis: President of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa is forced out of office. *2002 - US Senator Trent Lott resigns as majority leader. *2005 - 2005 New York City transit strike: New York City's Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services. * 2005 - US District Court Judge John E. Jones III ruled against mandating teaching "intelligent design" in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. *2006 - A judge rules against the death penalty in the case of Naveed Haq, a man convicted in the shooting death and injuries at the Jewish Federation in Seattle. Births *1494 - Oronce Finé, French mathematician (d. 1555) *1537 - King John III of Sweden (d. 1592) *1566 - Edward Wightman, English Baptist preacher (d. 1612) *1579 - (baptized) John Fletcher, English playwright (d. 1625) *1626 - Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (d. 1692) *1629 - Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (d. 1684) *1717 - Charles Gravier, French statesman and diplomat (d. 1787) *1786 - Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d. 1853) *1792 - Nicolas Charlet, French painter (d. 1845) *1833 - Samuel Mudd, American physician (d. 1883) *1838 - Edwin Abbott Abbott, English schoolmaster, theologian, and author (d. 1926) *1841 - Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1932) *1860 - Dan Leno, English entertainer (d. 1904) *1861 - Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (d. 1926) *1865 - Elsie De Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (d. 1950) *1868 - Harvey Firestone, American automobile pioneer (d. 1938) *1881 - Branch Rickey, baseball executive (d. 1965) *1886 - Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (d. 1974) *1888 - Fred Merkle, American baseball figure (d. 1958) *1890 - Yvonne Arnaud, French-born actress (d. 1958) * 1890 - Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967) *1894 - Sir Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1978) *1898 - Irene Dunne, American actress (d. 1990) *1901 - Robert Van de Graaff, American physicist and inventor (d. 1967) *1902 - Sidney Hook, American philosopher (d. 1989) * 1902 - George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent (d. 1942) *1904 - Spud Davis, baseball player (d. 1984) *1907 - Paul Francis Webster, musician (d. 1984) *1909 - Vakkom Majeed, Indian politician (d. 2000) *1911 - Hortense Calisher, American author *1916 - Michel Chartrand, Quebec union leader *1917 - David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (d. 1992) *1918 - Jean Marchand, French Canadian trade unionist and politician (d. 1988) * 1918 - Audrey Totter, American actress *1922 - George Roy Hill, American film director (d. 2002) * 1922 - Beverly Pepper, American sculptor and painter *1924 - Judy LaMarsh, Canadian politician and broadcaster (d. 1980) *1925 - Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (d. 2007) * 1925 - Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia *1926 - Sir Geoffrey Howe, British politician * 1926 - Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician *1927 - Kim Young-sam, President of South Korea *1931 - Mala Powers, American film actress (d. 2007) *1933 - Jean Carnahan, U.S. Senator * 1933 - Rik Van Looy, Belgian cyclist *1938 - John Harbison, American composer *1944 - Bobby Colomby, American musician (Blood) *1945 - Peter George Criscoula, American drummer and singer (Kiss) *1946 - Uri Geller, Israeli psychic * 1946 - John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005) * 1946 - Dick Wolf, American television series creator *1947 - Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer *1948 - Alan Parsons, British music producer and artist *1949 - Soumaïla Cissé, Malian politician * 1949 - Cecil Cooper, Major League baseball player *1951 - Gilbert Montagné, French musician * 1951 - Peter May, Scottish novelist and scriptwriter *1952 - Jenny Agutter, English actress *1954 - Michael Badalucco, American actor * 1954 - Sandra Cisneros, American writer *1955 - Ed Kuepper, German-born Australian musician (The Saints, Laughing Clowns) *1956 - Junji Hirata, Japanese professional wrestler *1957 - Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter * 1957 - Mike Watt, American bassist * 1957 - Stephen Bicknell, leading British organ expert (d. 2007) * 1957 - Joyce Hyser, American actress * 1957 - Anna Vissi, Greek-Cypriot singer *1958 - Steve Sailer, American political commentator *1960 - Nalo Hopkinson, Canadian writer *1963 - Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo *1965 - Rich Gannon, American football player *1966 - Matt Neal , British Race Driver * 1966 - Chris Robinson, American singer (Black Crowes) * 1966 - Myrra Malmberg, Swedish singer *1968 - Karl Wendlinger, Austrian racing driver * 1968 - Joe Cornish, British comedian * 1968 - Phil Andrews, British racing driver *1970 - Nicole DeBoer, Canadian actress *1972 - Raymond I. Herrera, Mexican/American drummer for Fear Factory, producer, entrepreneur *1973 - Cory Stillman, National Hockey League forward *1974 - Die, Japanese musician (Dir en grey) *1975 - Bartosz Bosacki, Polish footballer * 1975 - Christian Filippella, Italian film director * 1975 - Jaydy Michel, Mexican model *1976 - Jang Hyuk, Korean actor * 1976 - Aubrey Huff, American baseball player * 1976 - Adam Powell, Neopets creator * 1976 - Ramon Stoppelenburg, world traveler and Dutch author *1977 - Saukrates, Canadian rapper *1978 - Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer * 1978 - Andrei Markov, Russian hockey player *1979 - Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist *1980 - Ashley Cole, English footballer * 1980 - Anthony da Silva, French-Portuguese footballer *1981 - Roy Williams, American football player * 1981 - James Shields, American baseball player *1982 - David Wright, baseball player *1983 - Jonah Hill, American actor * 1983 - Lara Stone, Dutch model * 1983 - Lucy Pinder, British model *1987 - Tariel Zintiridis, Greek judoka *1990 - Joanna "JoJo" Levesque American pop/R&B Singer Deaths * 217 - Pope Zephyrinus * 860 - King Ethelbald of Wessex * 910 - Alfonso III of Leon *1022 - Elvira Mendes, wife of Alfonso V of Castile (b. 996) *1355 - Stefan Dušan, Serb king and tsar (b. circa 1308) *1494 - Matteo Maria Boiardo, Italian poet *1524 - Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician *1539 - Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer *1590 - Ambroise Paré, French physician (b. 1510) *1722 - Kangxi Emperor of China (b. 1654) *1723 - Augustus Quirinus Rivinus (b. 1652) *1740 - Richard Boyle, English military officer and statesman (b. 1675) *1768 - Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, Italian poet (b. 1692) *1783 - Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (b. 1729) *1812 - Sacagawea, Shoshone guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition *1917 - Lucien Petit-Breton, Argentine-French cyclist (b. 1882) *1921 - Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general (b. 1850) *1929 - Émile Loubet, 7th President of France (b.1838) *1935 - Martin O'Meara, Australian soldier (b. 1882) *1937 - Erich Ludendorff, German general (b. 1865) *1941 - Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887) *1954 - James Hilton, American author (b. 1900) *1956 - Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b. 1906) *1961 - Moss Hart, American dramatist (b. 1904) * 1961 - Earle Page, eleventh Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880) *1968 - John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902) *1973 - Luis Carrero Blanco, Prime Minister of Spain (assassinated) (b. 1903) * 1973 - Bobby Darin, American singer (b. 1936) *1974 - André Jolivet, French composer (b. 1905) *1976 - Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1902) *1982 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-born pianist (b. 1887) *1984 - Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1946) *1986 - Joe DeSa, baseball player (b. 1959) *1988 - Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian television pioneer, president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (b. 1908) *1989 - Kurt Böhme, German bass (b. 1908) *1991 - Simone Beck, French chef (b. 1904) *1994 - Dean Rusk, United States Secretary of State (b. 1909) *1996 - Carl Sagan, American astronomer and writer (b. 1934) *1997 - Denise Levertov, English-born poet (b. 1923) * 1997 - Juzo Itami, Japanese actor and director (b. 1933) * 1997 - Dawn Steel, American film producer (b. 1946) *1998 - Irene Hervey, American actress (b. 1910) * 1998 - Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1916) *1999 - Hank Snow, Canadian singer (b. 1914) * 1999 - Riccardo Freda, Italian film director (b. 1909) *2000 - Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, Bangladesh statesman, politician, and philanthropist (b. 1920) *2001 - Foster Brooks, American actor and comedian (b. 1912) * 2001 - Léopold Sédar Senghor, first President of Senegal (b. 1906) * 2005 - Maniam Moorthy, member of the first Malaysian team to summit Mount Everest Holidays and observances * R.C. Saints - Saint Dominic of Silos, O Clavis, Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December